Condition of Kelso road causing concern for councillors

Kathryn Wylie

Calls for one of Kelso’s busiest residential through roads to be repaired or resurfaced are being made by two of the town’s councillors.

Tom Weatherston and Simon Mountford say the state of Jedburgh Road, at the west end of the town, is not only a nuisance for residents but unfit for use by ambulances based at the station there.

The road, one of the main routes into the town from the Jedburgh side, is an access route for a large proportion of the town’s residents, and with Scottish Borders Council currently reviewing its highways repair programme, Mr Weatherston and Mr Mountford want it treated as a priority.

“The condition of this road has deteriorated significantly in recent years and is in urgent need of resurfacing,” Mr Weatherston said. “We are asking Scottish Borders Council’s engineers to prioritise these repairs.”

They are putting its condition down to wear and tear and say that while the bypass now takes most of the heavy traffic away from Jedburgh Road, construction vehicles accessing the nearby Wallaceneuk development could have played a part.

Mr Mountford added: “It has not been touched. The odd pothole has been filled on a temporary basis, but no resurfacing has taken place.

“We have received a huge number of complaints over the years and have raised this before.

“We have basically said that enough is enough, and we really want to support the local residents there.

“We have also got the ambulance station at the end of the road. If they are coming into Kelso, they have to transport people over what is a particularly rough bit of road. That’s not good for patients.

“We are urging officers to include this road in its works for the coming financial year.”

The pair’s intervention follows repeated calls for improvements by community councillor Harry Tomczyk, and he said: “The condition of this road is shocking and a serious hazard for motorists, and we welcome the support of our local Scottish Borders councillors for this campaign.”